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See Neil deGrasse Tyson eat hot wings while talking science

The popular astrophysicist discusses science in "The Simpsons" and dissects geeky rap lyrics while testing his hot sauce tolerance.

Bonnie Burton
Journalist Bonnie Burton writes about movies, TV shows, comics, science and robots. She is the author of the books Live or Die: Survival Hacks, Wizarding World: Movie Magic Amazing Artifacts, The Star Wars Craft Book, Girls Against Girls, Draw Star Wars, Planets in Peril and more! E-mail Bonnie.
Bonnie Burton
2 min read

Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson has a knack for making science easier to digest with pop culture references, bite-size facts and plenty of humor.

Turns out the "Star Talk" host can even do that while eating chicken wings dipped in hot sauce, as he just demonstrated on the web series "Hot Ones."

During an interview on the First We Feast YouTube channel, Tyson tries sauces from the not-so-hot Sriracha to the my-mouth-is-melting Mad Dog 357. The 26-minute interview almost feels like a cross between "Charlie Rose" and "Jackass."

In the video posted on Thursday, Tyson discusses topics such as which movies get science right, why he refuses to debunk conspiracy theories and his reasoning for why we should care about space.

Tyson also tells the backstories of personal photos he's shared on Twitter, including a snapshot of himself with former astronaut Buzz Aldrin, as well as selfies taken with former President Barack Obama and Bill Nye the Science Guy.

But one of the best moments comes when Tyson rates science-inspired rap lyrics. Kanye West singing about Uranus made Tyson question the rapper's knowledge of space, while OJ da Juiceman singing about the "color of thunder" interested the scientist.

"I like that," Tyson says. "Thunder is sound, not light. But thunder is so striking that you not only hear it, you feel it if you're close enough to it. It rumbles your chest. So I have no problems with anybody saying that the thunder was experienced through more than one of their senses."

You'll have to watch the whole interview to see whether Tyson makes it all the way to the end without crying.

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